Steven Rainville brings the heart of a craftsman, the hands of a builder and the mind of an artist to his practice of architecture, which spans nearly 30 years at Olson Kundig. From an early age, Steven has been designing and building with anything he could get his hands on, beginning with small single-room structures in the rural California of his youth to the residential, commercial, cultural and institutional projects that he designs today.
Pretty isn’t good enough. Good design is a deeper response that addresses building performance, the possibilities of technology and craft. It’s born of context, and it weathers time and change. It endures.
Steven Rainville
Principal / Owner | AIA, LEED AP
Lectures & Juries
2022
Zak World of Facades Seattle, Speaker
AIA Central Idaho / University of Idaho – OK DNA, Lecture
ICMA Design Competition / University of Idaho, Speaker
2021
Facades+ Seattle, Speaker
Facades+ Conference Southeast
2020
AIA Tampa Bay Design Awards Jury
Juror and Keynote Speaker, International Concrete Masonry Student Design Competition, Idaho
2019
Moderator, “Tipping the Paradigm,” Seattle Design Festival, Seattle, WA
Panelist, “The Battle for the Wall,” GlassBuild America Annual Glazing Executives Conference, Atlanta, GA
2018
Speaker, Living Futures Conference
Moderator, Architects Newspaper Facades+ Conference, Seattle
2016
“High Performance Craft: Olson Kundig Architects,” Distinguished Guest Lecture, Washington State University School of Design + Construction
“Olson Kundig Architects,” California Polytechnic State University
2015
“Olson Kundig Architects,” AIA Seattle Residential Design Forum
2014
“High Performance Craft,” Seattle Design Center
2013
“WSU VIsitor Center,” AIA Sustainable Wood
2012
Speaker, AIA Idaho Conference
“What’s Next?” AIA Indiana + Kentucky Convention
2010
“Building Ideas,” Emily Carr University of Art and Design
Speaker, AIA National Convention, Miami, FL
2008
“The Natural and The Kinetic,” Drury University Hammons School of Architecture
Education
Bachelor of Architecture and Architectural Studies, Washington State University
Awards
2024
Architectural Digest’s AD100 list, Olson Kundig
Ocean Home Magazine, Top 50 Coastal Architects, Olson Kundig
2023
Architectural Digest’s AD100 list, Olson Kundig
Architizer A+ Awards, Best Large Firm, Olson Kundig
Mountain Living Magazine, Top Architects and Designers List, Olson Kundig
Ocean Home Magazine, Top 50 Coastal Architects, Olson Kundig
AN Interior, Top 50 Architects & Designers, Olson Kundig
Architect’s Newspaper Best of Practice Awards, Honorable Mention, XL West Firm, Olson Kundig
Chicago Athenaeum, American Architecture Award, LeBron James Innovation Center at Nike World Headquarters
2022
Architectural Digest, AD100 List, Olson Kundig
AN Interior, Top 50 North American Architects Working In Interiors Today, Olson Kundig
Mountain Living Magazine, Top Architects and Designers List, Olson Kundig
Ocean Home Magazine, Top 50 Coastal Architects, Olson Kundig
2020
AIA Seattle Honor Awards for Washington Architecture, Award of Honor, Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats
2019
AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Design Awards, Merit Award, Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats
AIA Washington Council Civic Design Awards, Honor Award, Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats
Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce, Building of the Year Finalist, Wagner Education Center at the Center for Wooden Boats
2010
AIA National Honor Award, Outpost
2008
AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Merit Award, Outpost
2007
AIA Seattle Merit Award, Outpost
2005
Residential Architect Grand Award, Chicken Point Cabin
2004
AIA National Honor Award, Chicken Point Cabin
The Chicago Athenaeum’s American Architecture Award, Chicken Point Cabin
2003
AIA Northwest and Pacific Region Honor Award, Chicken Point Cabin
2002
AIA Seattle Honor Award, Chicken Point Cabin